#OnThisDay 22 September 1882 the Garden Palace fire occurred. The Garden Palace was built in only eight months to house the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879 in the southwestern end of the Royal Botanic Gardens.
At the time of the fire a number of government departments housed records in the Palace so that when fire completely engulfed the timber building a number of significant documents, such as the 1881 Census, were destroyed.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald. (1931). Garden Palace Fire. A Disaster of 1882
Related
- Digital Gallery: Garden Palace Fire (includes an account of the fire by the night watchman)
